<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Endgame by xtremeroswellian</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23866561">Endgame</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian'>xtremeroswellian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Who I Am, What I'll Become [24]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Angel: the Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Beheading, Demons, Domestic Violence, F/M, Gen, Jealousy, Traps, spells</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:08:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23866561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Angel is led into a trap while a desperate Cordelia is determined to save him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cordelia Chase/Angel, Past Angel/Darla - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Who I Am, What I'll Become [24]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716577</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Endgame</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Angel lay on his bed silently, staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face. No one had come by to try and talk to him today and he was relieved.</p><p>He'd almost killed Cordelia. Not killed. Almost turned her into a vampire. Into a soulless, evil monster. Like he'd been only days before. He was still thrown by that. Angelus had been drawn to her in a way that frightened him. He'd wanted her. He'd wanted her in a way he'd promised himself he'd never even look at Cordelia Chase. Because despite how beautiful she was, and how much he cared for her, it was too dangerous to risk letting himself get too close to her.</p><p>Closing his eyes, he rested a hand on his chest.</p><p>Even before, the first time he'd lost his soul, in Sunnydale...Angelus hadn't wanted to do the things to Buffy he'd wanted to do to Cordelia. Buffy he just wanted to kill. Cordelia he wanted to make his own for eternity.</p><p>Which meant he was even more dangerous to her than he'd ever been to Buffy.</p><p>The telephone beside his bed rang, jarring him from his brooding state. He opened his eyes and stared at it for a long moment. He reached out slowly and lifted it off its cradle. "Hello?"</p><p>"Hello, Angelus," Darla purred into the phone.</p><p>He sat up instantly, looking around as though she might be in the room with him. "What do you want?"</p><p>"Just you, my darling boy."</p><p>"It's over, Darla," he said, his voice cold.</p><p>"It's not even close to over," she told him. "Of course, if you never wanna see your little bitch Seer again, then you never have to see me again either."</p><p>Angel froze. "What?"</p><p>"That's right, Angelus. I have your little whore. She's all tied up and just waiting for her knight to rescue her," Darla taunted.</p><p>His grip on the phone tightened. "What have you done with her?"</p><p>"Nothing," she said innocently. "Yet. Of course, I am starting to get hungry. But you know how I hate leftovers."</p><p>Angel remained silent, his chest tight with fear.</p><p>"If you want to see her alive again, come to the warehouse. Alone. If you're not here in twenty minutes, she dies. Slowly." She hung up the phone.</p><p>He didn't even bother hanging up the telephone. He tossed it onto the bed and headed for his closet, grabbing a stake from the shelf. Then he hurried for the door. The thought never crossed his mind that Darla could be lying.</p><p>* * *</p><p>"How is she?" Gunn looked at Wesley as he stepped into Cordelia's apartment.</p><p>Wesley sighed softly. "She's very upset."</p><p>"Understatement," Oz murmured, not looking up from where he sat on the sofa.</p><p>"Apparently Angel told her that she should go back to Sunnydale and work for Giles at the Magic Box," Wesley told him.</p><p>Gunn's lips twisted into a scowl. "Nice way to thank her for making sure he didn't get staked."</p><p>"Maybe he wishes he had been."</p><p>They all turned to look at Kate, who was leaning on the door frame between the kitchen and the living room.</p><p>"Angel hurt her. Maybe he feels like he should've been killed."</p><p>"Perhaps," Wesley murmured in agreement, looking troubled.</p><p>"Great. So first he was helping the helpless, then he was a soulless killing machine, and now he's a brooding vamp with a death wish." Gunn folded his arms across his chest.</p><p>"Pretty much sums it up." Oz glanced toward the hallway and stood up slowly when he spotted Cordelia.</p><p>"Cordelia. Are you all right? Do you need anything?" Wesley moved toward her worriedly.</p><p>Her face was pale. "I had a vision," she whispered, her voice barely audible.</p><p>"What is it?"</p><p>"Angel. He's in trouble."</p><p>* * *</p><p>"Hello, Angelus."</p><p>Angel clutched the stake in his hand a little tighter as he heard Darla's voice from within the depths of the warehouse.</p><p>"Glad you could make it."</p><p>"Where is she?" he demanded, his voice low.</p><p>"Who? Your Seer?"</p><p>His jaw clenched and he moved farther into the darkness of the building. "If you've hurt her--"</p><p>"Relax, my darling boy. I haven't touched your girlfriend. Yet." A smile touched Darla's lips and she stepped out of the shadows.</p><p>"Where is she?" he asked again.</p><p>"At home, I'd imagine. You wouldn't believe how guarded they've kept her. Of course, I'm sure that's because they've lost their faith in you and your ability to protect her or anyone else. Quite the killing spree we had, wasn't it?"</p><p>Angel stared at her. "Cordelia's not here?"</p><p>Her lips curled in disdain. "One mention of that bitch and you come running. What is it with the dark haired sluts that brings you to your knees so easily?"</p><p>"Don't call her that," he said harshly.</p><p>Darla chuckled but it was devoid of humor. "First Dru, then Cordelia. How far you've fallen, Angelus."</p><p>"The name's Angel."</p><p>She smirked. "You're far from an angel." She glanced past him and nodded slightly.</p><p>Before he even had time to turn around, he was yanked off his feet, metal cuffs secured around his hands and pulling him into the air--not high, just enough to keep him off the ground. "What the hell--"</p><p>"If I can't have you," Darla whispered darkly, stepping toward him and pulling out a dagger. "No one can. Especially not her."</p><p>* * *</p><p>"Where was he?" Wesley asked as Gunn drove them in his truck toward the Eastern most part of L.A.</p><p>"I don't know." Her voice was thick with tears. "Some warehouse. Gunn, please hurry."</p><p>He glanced at her, nodding and pressed his foot to the gas pedal a little more firmly, speeding up a little.</p><p>"It'll be okay," Kate said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "He's Angel. He's tough."</p><p>"A champion," Oz murmured.</p><p>Somehow neither of their words comforted her right then. She stared ahead, her eyes sweeping over the landscape. "There!" She pointed to a warehouse up the street. "That's the one."</p><p>"Are you sure?"</p><p>She looked at Wesley. "Positive," she whispered.</p><p>He nodded and Gunn pulled the vehicle up to the outside of the warehouse and stopped it. There were several vamps and demons gathered outside, none of which had noticed them yet.</p><p>Cordelia's heart was pounding quickly and she reached for the door handle but Wesley quickly stopped her. "We can't just go in like this, Cordelia. We're very much outnumbered."</p><p>"I don't care," she said fiercely, giving him a look that would frighten most. "Angel's in there and he needs help. If you wanna sit in here and be afraid, then go ahead. I'm going in." She grabbed a couple of stakes that were in the glove compartment, and picked up the small battle axe she'd used in Sunnydale not long ago.</p><p>Wesley let out a breath and grabbed a couple stakes as well, and Oz, Gunn and Kate did the same. Cordelia led the way toward the front of the warehouse.</p><p>Gunn watched her, then quickly followed, as did the others.</p><p>Cordelia barely paid attention to the demons and vampires outside the warehouse. Her eyes were steely, her face grim and determined. "Come towards me and you're dead," she said in a harsh, don't-screw-with-me voice.</p><p>They all regarded her in surprise but no one made a move toward her. Their attention focused on the rest of her friends and a couple of them began to approach.</p><p>"Here we go," Kate mumbled, pulling her gun out of its holster.</p><p>One of the vampires smirked at her. "That won't kill me."</p><p>"No. But it'll hurt." She fired and shot him right in the head and he fell backwards. It was her turn to smirk. "Boy, when you're right, you're right."</p><p>* * *</p><p>Cordelia stepped into the warehouse, goosebumps rising up on her skin. There was evil in this place, she realized grimly. And not just the run of the mill vampire type evil. Something darker than she had ever encountered was taking place. "Angel?" Her voice was strong though her fear was immense.</p><p>"Well, I'm glad you could join the party, Cordelia."</p><p>She quickly turned to see Darla a few feet away, wearing a red blouse and a pair of black pants. She regarded the vampire coolly, her fingers curling more tightly around the stake in her left hand and around the handle of the axe in her right one. "Where's Angel?"</p><p>Darla smiled and stepped aside to reveal several chanting demons gathered in a circle.</p><p>Cordelia's eyebrows furrowed and she looked up to see Angel hanging by his wrists above the circle, beads of sweat broken out on his face and bare chest. "Angel!"</p><p>"Cordelia," he murmured, not able to lift his head.</p><p>"What the hell have you done to him?" she demanded, her anger propelling her toward the blond vampire.</p><p>Darla smiled again. "Why, nothing, dear. What's wrong? You look kind of pale."</p><p>She raised the axe. "Let him go."</p><p>"Do you really think I'm gonna let you kill me? You're a mere human, a lower being." Her voice was taunting.</p><p>"Cordelia, get out of here," Angel managed to say, his voice broken.</p><p>She shifted her gaze to him for a moment, then back to Darla. And swung the axe toward her, catching her off guard. Darla fell back onto the floor, her eyes widening. "You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to killing you," Cordelia said darkly.</p><p>Darla kicked her legs out from beneath her and sent her tumbling to the floor as well.</p><p>The chanting was getting louder and a cry of pain escaped Angel's lips, but he was too weak to struggle.</p><p>Cordelia quickly jumped to her feet at the same time Darla did and they regarded one another cautiously, slowly circling each other.</p><p>"He doesn't care about you," Darla informed her.</p><p>She tightened her grip on the battle axe. "You only wish he cared about you half as much as he does me. The truth is, you're jealous."</p><p>Darla smirked. "Jealous? Of a human?" She laughed. "Oh, stupid girl."</p><p>She swung the axe at the vampire again and this time Darla knocked it from her hands, grabbing her around the throat. Cordelia choked, quickly reaching up to try and pry Darla's hands away.</p><p>Her eyes knowing and dark, filled with evil and hate, Darla vamped out. "You could never be good enough for him, you little slut. You could never begin to handle someone like my Angelus." She shoved her backwards, against the wall and Cordelia gasped for breath as her neck was released. Swallowing hard, she blinked back the tears that had sprung to her eyes involuntarily when the vampire had choked her.</p><p>Another cry of pain escaped from Angel and her gaze quickly shot to him, terror filling her at the sound. She didn't know what was going on, what the demons were doing, but whatever it was, it was causing him pain. A lot of it. As Darla stepped toward her again, a wave of calm clarity washed over Cordelia. She remained slouched against the wall, not startled when Darla grabbed her by the neck once more. Without warning, she grabbed the stake from the waistband of her pants and slammed it into Darla's chest. "Endgame, Darla," she whispered darkly.</p><p>The shock barely had time to register on the vampire's face. "No!" she screamed as she exploded into dust.</p><p>Cordelia didn't waste a moment before grabbing her axe off the floor and heading for the ring of demons surrounding Angel. They weren't paying her any attention, so when she beheaded the first one and its head went rolling across the floor, the chanting ceased immediately and they all turned to face her. There were at least ten, and they were big demons. Swallowing hard, she took a step backwards, knowing she was in trouble.</p><p>The first one approached her and she buried the axe in his stomach, watching him stumble backwards and fall.</p><p>As the next three came closer, she knew it was over. There was no way she could take them all. Not by herself, and not with just a stake for defense.</p><p>"Hey, Fugly!" Gunn shouted, heading toward the demons at full speed and wielding a large sword. "Come and get me!"</p><p>An arrow flew and slammed into another demon's head, dropping him instantly.</p><p>Cordelia turned to see Oz holding a crossbow.</p><p>"Look out!" Kate shouted, firing her gun and shooting one of them. The demon, appearing stunned, looked down at the gaping wound in his chest from the bullet.</p><p>"Shit," it mumbled, then fell to the ground dead.</p><p>Cordelia glanced around and saw that the others were occupying the demons' attention, so she hurried over and yanked her axe from the one's gut that she'd killed and shoved a couple of crates over close to where Angel was hanging limply. She climbed on top of the crate and reached out and touched his face. "Angel?" He didn't respond. Swallowing hard and fearing the worst, she swung the axe and it clinked loudly against the metal chains. After several more strikes, he dropped to the floor with a loud thud. Tossing the axe down, she jumped off the crate and knelt beside him. "Angel? Angel!"</p><p>Wesley drove a stake into the demon's chest, a little surprised when the beast went down. He heard Cordelia's frantic voice and quickly rushed to her side. "Is he--"</p><p>"He's burning up!" She was cradling his head in her hands. "Wesley, they did something to him, they were chanting and...I think it was some kind of spell."</p><p>He swallowed hard, looking at Angel's still body. He didn't know what was wrong, but whatever it was, wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>